If you have already taught Border Collie how to come, sit and drop then it is time to teach your Border Collie the ‘stay’ command. This is a very useful command that all Border Collies should understand as it teaches your Border Collie patience and it could get your Border Collie out of trouble one day.
Here is an easy method to help you teach your Border Collie to stay....
Once your Border Collie understands the concept of training and already sits, drops, and comes to you on command, you are ready for the ‘stay’ command.
All you need are some dog treats to reward good behaviour, a positive attitude, and a lot if patience.
Step 1. Decide on a hand gesture to use with the word command ‘stay’. For example, use your right hand with an open palm. Your Border Collie will learn a lot quicker if you combine a word command with a hand signal.
Step 2. Ask your Border Collie to sit then tell it to stay using the word and the hand gesture you have chosen. Do not move away from your Border Collie at this stage and reward it for staying. Do this a few times.
Step 3. Next, use your word and hand command and tell your Border Collie ‘stay’. Take a step backwards, pause for 2 seconds, and step forward again. Reward your Border Collie if it stays. If it moves, try again. Do not reward it until it stays. Practice this step a few more times so your Border Collie understands.
Step 4. Now your Border Collie puppy is staying when you step away from it, gradually increase the time and distance of the stays. Always return to your Border Collie and reward the behaviour to reinforce it. If it looks like your Border Collie is going to move as you increase the time and distance, reinforce the stay with the stay command.
Step 5. If your Border Collie keeps getting up as you increase the time and distance, go back to the beginning and start to build the stay time and distance up again.
Step 6. Keep working with your Border Collie puppy until it can stay for up to 2 minutes. This is a long time for a Border Collie puppy. As your Border Collie puppy matures, increase the amount of time your Border Collie will stay. Your Border Collie puppy should be staying nicely within a week.
Training can be frustrating if you do not get the results you want. Remember, you need patience and consistency. If your Border Collie puppy is not doing what you want then you need to look at why and what you can do to help your Border Collie to understand you. Border Collies want to please their pack leaders so if they do not understand us, it is usually because we are not being clear.
If you are having trouble training your Border Collie to stay, change to teaching the sit or drop position again. Reward the behaviour and try the stay again in your next training session.
It is really important to finish every training session on a positive note. If you are not having success with your training, ask your Border Collie to do something you know it can do easily and reward the behaviour and finish the session.
Keep your training fun and the sessions short. Never punish your Border Collie puppy if it does not understand you. If you do, it will just make training all that much harder.